2015 International Conference on Chinese and African Sustainable Urbanization: A Canadian and International Perspective

University of Ottawa, CanadaOctober 24-25, 2015

Urban Sustainability and Food Security in Africa and China:

A Trans-Continental Policy Lessons and Perspectives

Chijioke J. Evoh Economic & Urban Policy Research Analysts (ECONUPA)

• INTRODUCTION

• URBAN SUSTAIABILITY & FOOD SECURITY IN CHINA

• URBAN FOOD PLANNING IN CHINESE CITIES

• GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE IN CHINA

• SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES TO URBAN FOOD PRODUCTION IN CHINA

OUTLINE

• URBANIZATION IN AFRICA

• URBAN FOOD POLICY IN AFRICA

• AGRICULTURE & FOOD PRODUCTION IN AFRICA:

A) NIGERIA B) MALAWI

• URBAN FOOD SECURITY IN CHINA: POLICY LESSONS FOR AFRICA

• CONCLUSION

FOCUS – Urban food security within the context of development

cooperation between China and sub-Saharan African countries.

China & Africa share two commonalities: the increasing trend of urbanization continuous practice of subsistent agriculture, particularly in the rural areas. Chinese cities have managed to create a sustainable

system of urban food security for their teeming population

Introduction

Figure1: Food System Map

Source: Nourish Initiatives, 2013

URBAN SUSTAIABILITY & FOOD SECURITY IN CHINA

Urban food security in Chinameasured by the aggregate availability of food and by access of vulnerable individual and household to food has improved in recent decades.

At the national level, China has maintained food self sufficiency and even sustained a net export

China has one quarter of world’s 500 largest urban areas (Seto, n.d).

By the end of 2014 China’s urban population was 749.16 million (54.77%) and rural population was 618.66 million (45.23 %) (National Bureau of Statistics China, 2015)

Urban population is projected to reach 67% of the total population by 2030, and 70 percent by 2015, increasing by about 1% point per year (World Bank, 2014).

CHINA

Urban Decentralization in China – The Go West Policy

Source: Seto, n.d

Figure 2: The change in China’s urban and rural population (in millions) in 1980-2012

Source: National Statistical Bureau of China, 2013.

URBAN FOOD PLANNING IN CHINESE CITIES

From 1978 – 2011, China’s agricultural GDP at constant prices grew at an annual rate of 4.6%, four times the rate of population growth.

This is driven by a mix of strategic and political considerations:

A campaign to “modernize” agriculture Concerns about rural-urban income inequality Concerns about maintaining “food security” and

self-sufficiency

A) Food Security Policies - (National Security)

Increase in Grain Production – Grain output was about 470 million ton in 2011 + Made Possible by: Institutional Change/Market Reforms Technological Development New Irrigation systems Flourishing Agro-input Industry

B) Intensive Agriculture around Cities

Figure3: Restored Rice Farming In West Beijing Via Water Saving Irrigation & Multifunctional Use

Source: Cai, 2014

C) Institutional and Market Reforms

Example: - Household Responsibility SystemFrom 1980 to 2012, China’s grain production rose from 320.56 million tons to 589.57 million tons (84 %) (Cai, 2014)

Figure4: China’s Grain Production and Total Uses of Domestically Produced Grain, 1981–2012 (million of tons)

National Bureau of Statistics of China, China Statistical Yearbook, cited in Monthly Review, May 2014.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE IN CHINA

o Agricultural Insurance, o County “awards”o General Input Subsidy for grain

producerso Agricultural Machineryo Improved seeds o Direct payment to grain producers

Figure5: China Expenditures on major agricultural Subsidy Programs, 2004-12

Source: Gale, 2013.

Mechanization of Agriculture o Over the past 2 decades the area of land

mechanically plowed has doubled, growing at an annual rate of more than 3%.

o In 2011, more than 72% of cultivated lad in China was mechanically plowed.

- Mechanical Plowing- Mechanical Sowing

Figure 6: Application of Technology

World Bank, 2014

Figure 7: Expenditure on China's four major agricultural subsidies, 2004-12

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, China Statistical Yearbook, cited in Monthly Review, May 2014

DIVERSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE BEYOND GRAIN

A shift from low value and land intensive cereal cultivation to higher-value labor-intensive activities

E.g., Fishing, livestock husbandry, poultry rearing and fruits/vegetable farming.

Figure 8: Percentage share of gross output value by sector in China (1980–2010)

Source: Xi, X and Li, X, 2014

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY MAKING - A MORE PRACTICAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT IN NEEDED.

Wide range consultation with farmers

Vertical and horizontal structures embody China’s agricultural policy

A means of Promoting urban sustainability & Resilience

Bringing Food Production Closer to consumers

Reducing Environmental footprint Encouraging awareness of food safety Promoting environmental stewardship

URBAN AGRICULTURE IN CHINA

A) Urban Agriculture in Beijing Integrates urban agriculture into strategic

development plans  Beijing’s municipal government encourage

multi-function urban agriculture in peri-urban areas

Supports the development of “agro-parks” Beijing has created five zones that govern the type of agro-parks in the city. 

The 221 information platform supports urban agriculture in Beijing

Application of New technologies Urban farmers are encouraged to

establish cooperatives (Cai, 2014)

I) Environmental Pollution: + One-fifth of China’s arable land is contaminated + Three-quarters of the surface water running through urban areas in the country is unsuitable for drinking or fishing II) Land Encroachment: - Land Requisition for development purposes

III) Urban Food Waste

SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES TO URBAN FOOD PRODUCTION IN CHINA

Table 1: Quantity of Food Waste and its share in municipal solid waste (MSW) in the eight pilot cities in 2008

Population of African countries is very rural (64%)

Urbanization is on the rise but without the necessary industrial development

43 percent of urban residents in Africa are poor ( FAO, 2012). Urban populations in secondary cities are also growing rapidly.

URBANIZATION IN AFRICA

 Figure 9: Urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa

Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2012)

Figure 10: Growth of African Cities

Source: United Nations Populations Division, World Urbanization Prospectus, 2014.

Heavy reliance on the informal food economy for both livelihood and food security (Battersby & Crush, 2014; Crush & Frayne, 2011).

Urban food security is primarily an issue of access and is highly influenced by city infrastructure, flows of people and energy, demographics, and policies

Most municipal governments do not have food security policies/plan or an understandings of how food insecurity occurs and how it differentially affects city residents is not well understood (Frayne et al., 2010). 

Urban areas already represent the majority (roughly 60 percent) of the African food economy (in terms of total purchased food) (AfDB, 2013)

URBAN FOOD POLICY IN AFRICA

Africa has around 600 million hectares of uncultivated arable land, roughly 60 percent of the global total

Largely food insecure due to: Agricultural Productivity is low Poor infrastructure Low mechanization of agriculture Food Waste

AGRICULTURE & FOOD PRODUCTION IN AFRICA

Nigeria’s food imports are growing at an unsustainable rate of 11% per annum. Nigeria is importing what it can produce in abundance.

Import dependency is hurting Nigerian farmers, displacing local production and creating rising unemployment

A) NIGERIA

Figure 11: Food Import in Nigeria

Source: Central bank of Nigeria, 2013

B) MALAWI- As of July 2012, more than 1.1 million households in the four largest cities in Malawi (i.e., Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Zomba and Blantyre) were food insecure. This represents 90% of all urban dwellers.  

Figure 12 : Overall Food Security in Urban Malawi

Source: Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) and the country’s Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (2013) 

Political commitment & practicable/evidence-based Urban Food Policy and learning process

Urban Planning/Enforcement – effective vertical & horizontal implementation organs

Improved market ArrangementsFull Government Support for Agriculture in forms of: subsidies to

farmers for farms inputs & mechanization of agriculture Urban and Rural Food Storage facilities Improved Access to Land Initial Government Investment in basic infrastructure (e.g.

electricity, transportation and ICTs) Integrating Urban Farming into Urban PlanningApplication of Ideas/Research outcomes from advisory networks

such as urban & agricultural research centers in Africa (e.g., IITA) Improved urban food data collection All of the above will help to improve Agri-Food System Supply

Chain (Figure 12).

URBAN FOOD SECURITY IN CHINA: POLICY LESSONS FOR AFRICA

Figure 13: Agri-Food System Supply Chain

Source: AfDB, 2013

African countries stands to gain from the Chinese experience in urban food policy/planning in the past 30 years.

Despite great differences in natural resource endowment, demography, political system, ethnic and religious circumstances, these valuable lessons from China can potentially guide African countries in the promotion of urban food security in particular, and the transformation of agriculture and rural development in general.

The questions remains whether African countries are ready to adopt and adapt these policy measures for urban food enhancement. Urban food planning is a process of innovation that can enable the creation and scaling of food provisioning and poverty reduction in African cities.

Conclusion

Thanks for Listening

cjevoh@gmail.com